Lid applicator

ABSTRACT

Method and apparatus for applying heat-sealable lids to containers characterized by the steps of and means for feeding a strip of lids to a row of containers, separating the individual lids from the strip and laying a lid on each container, pressing each lid to its container and spot tacking it thereto, and thereafter heat sealing the lids onto the containers whereby to expedite production of sealed containers; said tacking means comprising a particular feature of this invention.

, United States Patent lnventors Archie J. Reed; [56] References CitedAugust W. McKale, both of Battle Creek, UNITED STATES PATENTS A l N 23%3,177,106 4/1965 Seefluth etal. 156/250 Fil d' beca 1 3,283,469 ll/l966McBradyetal. 53/112AX la 1971 2,970,414 2/1961 Rohdin 156/521 uxAssignee Kellogg Company Primary Examiner-Benjamin A. Borchelt BattleCreek, Mich. Assistant Examiner-James M. Hanley At!orneyGary, Parker,Juettner, Pigott & Cullinan LID APPLICATOR l5 Claims,6 Drawing Figs.ABSTRACT: Method and apparatus for applying heat-sealas 156/542 ble lidsto containers characterized by the steps of and means 156/521 1 forfeeding a strip of lids to a row of containers, separating the ClB65b57/02 individual lids from the strip and laying a lid on eachconlnt. 83% 31/20, miner, p g each d to its container and p tacking it Mis h 56/69 thereto, and thereafter heat sealing the lids onto the cono 3542 tainers whereby to expedite production of sealed containers; 25 5 5l said tacking means comprising a particular feature of this invention.

Y l-4 '54 l $1 I I V 67 I I x 4'0 I 4x l I I Z i 45 o t 6'6 7 1 I 69 iif 0 T 5 i 3 26 -6 1- 1l if H 64 I g 6 I z l I I I v 1 42 1 49; i I '1 2i. @j( 1 1 I 4 I i I l 5 'm r' i Q y ;1 1 12 12 10 22 a 4? f1 if 22 TUU- 52 WT Z2 PATENTED DEC 7 lSYl SHEET 3 BF 4 PATENTEU DEC 7 IQYI SHEET[1F 4 Jae/enters:

LID APPLICATOR Other features and advantages will become apparent fromthe drawings and the following description, which are given to acquaintthose skilled in the art with the best mode presently contemplated by usof carrying out our invention.

THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a schematic side elevation of packaging machineryembodying the principles of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a container and a lid depicting the modeof spot tacking the lid to the container;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a completed and fully sealed container;

FIG. 4 is an end elevation, on an enlarged scale, of the tacker;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the tacker taken substantially on line 5-5 ofFIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a vertical longitudinal section of the tacker takensubstantially on line 66 of FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 illustrates the head end of a packaging line for thefilling and sealing of individual service bowls of ready-to-eatbreakfast cereal. Each bowl, as illustrated in FIG. 3, comprises aneconomical disposable plastic bowl l0 and a lid 11 heat sealed to aperipheral flange 12 on the top of the bowl. The lid preferablycomprises a readily tearable and thus easily removed flexible laminatecomprised of an exterior foil and an interior film of heat-sealablematerial adapted to be heat sealed to the flange 12. The material of thebowl and the film is such as to seal the contents of the bowl untilserving thereof, whereby to maintain the purity and freshness of thecontainer contents. When served, the lid is easily stripped from thebowl and the contents thus exposed for consumption directly from thebowl; i.e., in the case of breakfast cereal, with the addition of milkor cream and sugar if desired.

The individual service bowls of cereal are of course given principallyby way of example, the invention being equally applicable to other formsof containers and other contents to be packaged. However, the cerealbowls do serve to exemplify the invention.

Referring to FIG. I, a device of known construction and operation isprovided at the head end of an endless conveyor 21 for feeding bowls oneby one in an upright position onto the conveyor toform a row of bowls incontiguous relation. The conveyor preferably comprises a series ofcuplike holders 22 pivotally interconnected in link fashion, each linkor holder being complemental to the bowls each to receive an individualbowl. The conveyor thus carries the bowls seriatim beneath a fillingmachine 23 of known construction which deposits a predetermined quantityof cereal into each bowl. The the bowls are conveyed to a lid-applyingmeans 24.

The lids II are conventionally supplied in elongate strips in roll form,as indicated by the roll 1 la. In the machine 24, the lid strip 11 ispulled from the supply roll 11a by two rubber feed rolls llb. Theperipheral speed of these rolls corresponds to the product of lid lengthand machine speed, and they feed the lid strip at proper speed throughthe two guide rolls into a rotary knife 110 which cuts the strip intoindividual lids mated to the bowls I0. From the rotary knife, each lidis picked up by a pair of feed tapes 25 which convey each lid to and layit on a respective bowl. The speed of these tapes is the product of bowlspacing on the conveyor and machine speed, so that as the lids are cut,they are spaced from one another and carried by the feed tapes intoregister with the bowl spacings of the conveyor holders 22. Thus, lids11 are fed seriatim downwardly under a roller or guide means 26 in suchtimed manner that a lid 11 is automatically brought into overlyingrelation to each container or bowl 10. Each assembly of lid and bowl,while held in place by the roller 26, is then engaged by a tacker,indicated generally at 27, which by means of a heated shoe tacks the lidto the bowl.

A spot tacking shoe and its mode of operation are depicted schematicallyin FIG. 2 wherein a shoe is indicated at 28 and its path of movement isdepicted by phantom line 29. As illustrated, the shoe 28 moves forwardly(opposite to the direction of travel of the bowls) in upwardly spacedrelation to the bowls and lids, then downwardly to contact the trailingedge of one bowl 10 and its lid 11 and the leading edge of the next bowland lid, then rearwardly simultaneously with the two bowls to applythereto sufficient heat for a sufficient period of time to cause eachlid to be heat sealed to the flange 12 of its bowl at the spot or areacontacted by the shoe 28, and then the shoe moves upwardly away from thebowls to repeat its operation on a succeeding pair of bowls in the line,while the bowls with fixedly tacked lids thereon move down the line tothe next operation.

The next operation is performed by a lid-sealing device 30 of knownconstruction which acts simultaneously on a plurality of the bowls toeffect complete sealing of each of the lids over the full area of theflange 12 of the respective bowl 10.

Prior to the advent of this invention, considerable difliculty had beenoccasioned in the latter operation due to accidental displacement of thelids relative to the bowls. A lid might slip slightly forward orbackward, or to one side or the other, with the result that it was notaligned with the bowl flange during the heat-sealing operation and thebowl would issue from the sealer with its lid askew and the bowlcontents exposed. While the contents might be salvaged, the bowl and lidwere wasted and production was severely restricted.

By virtue of this invention, the lids are laid and held onto the bowlswhile under complete control of the lid-applying mechanism where theyare relatively easy to handle and properly align with the bowl. The lidsare the immediately tacked in place so that they cannot become askew,and thus pass into the sealing mechanism 30 properly oriented tothebowls. The result is substantially decreased waste and substantiallyincreased production of the finished product.

Also, the invention facilitates continuous mass production of the filledand sealed bowls, there being no interruption of bowl or conveyormovement necessitated thereby. Consequently, a continuous stream of thecompleted product moves down the conveyor to a suitable packing area tothe right of FIG. I.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 to 6, the lid feeder 24 and tacker 27 providedby this invention are shown as mounted on a pair of spaced parallel sideframes 40 which are supported above the conveyor 21 in parallel andcentered relation thereto. Joumaled in the upstream end of the framesare a pair of vertically spaced cross-shafts 41 and 42, the upper one 41of which carries a pair of spool-type guide rollers 43 for guiding apair of flexible belts which comprise the lid feeding belt means 25, andthe lower one 42 of which carries a pair of belt-driving rollerscomprising the previously mentioned roller or guide means 26, the beltsbeing reaved over the two sets of rollers and adapted to be driven bythe shaft 42. For the purpose, the shaft 42 includes a clutch tongue 44adapted to be engaged with a driven element of the machine for rotatingthe rolls 26 at such speed as to align a lid 11 with each of the bowls12.

At the downstream end of the frames 40, a similar transverse drive shaft45 equipped with a clutch part 46 is journaled in the frames for drivingthe heat-sealing shoe means 28 of the tacker in timed relation to themovement of the conveyor 21.

In its preferred embodiment, the tacker embodies a pair of theheat-sealing shoes, indicated respectively at 28 and 28a, and anindependent drive mechanism for each shoe. Accordingly, the drive shaft45 (which is engaged in known manner with an element of the machine)carries a pair of drive gears 47 and 47a each of which is engaged with arespective gear 48-48a each of which is secured to a respective shoeoperation shaft 49-49a.

Inasmuch as the shoe-operating mechanisms are identical, except forbeing out of phase as will subsequently be described, one of themechanisms will be described in conjunction with whole referencenumerals and the corresponding parts of the other mechanism will bedesignated in the drawings by the same numerals with the suffix a.

As shown, the shoe-operating shaft 49 of each mechanism is equipped withan eccentric 50 to which a horizontal link 51 is pivotally connected forreciprocatory movement in a generally horizontal direction. Also, theshaft 49 carries a cam 52 having a peripheral surface divided into anouter lobe or cam surface 53 of approximately l80 arcuate extent, aninner lobe or cam surface 54 of a somewhat lesser arcuate extend, andintervening transition surfaces. Said surfaces are engaged by a follower55 mounted on one end of a bellcrank lever 56 which is pivotedintermediate its ends on the frame by a pivot pin or bolt 57. Adjacentits opposite end, the bellcrank pivotally mounts a vertical link 58 forreciprocatory movement in a generally vertical direction in response tothe caminduced movements of the bellcrank; the outer end of thebellcrank being biased downwardly and the inner end thereof rearwardlytoward the cam by a tension spring 59 extended between the bellcrank andthe adjacent side frame 40.

The vertical link 58 is longitudinally adjustable by virtue of abuilt-in turnbuckle 60 and is thereby adjustably and pivotally connectedto the rear of a carrier 61 for the heat-sealing shoe 28. The forwardend of the carrier is pivotally connected to a vertical link 62 whichgenerally parallels the link 58 and is pivotally connected to theforward or outer end of the bellcrank, whereby the carrier is mounted onand retained in an essentially horizontal position by a parallelogramlinkage.

Associated with this linkage is a bracket 63 that is pivotally connectedto the vertical link 62 and to the horizontal link 51 and which servesas a safety link or lost motion connection between the links 51 and 62.To this end, the bracket 63 includes a crossmember 64 that normallyengages the front side of the linkage 62 and a compression spring 65disposed between the opposite side of the link 62 and a rearwardextension of the bracket, whereby the bracket is normally biased intothe position shown in FIG. 6. Consequently, when horizontal link 51 ismoved rearwardly (i.e., to the right in FIG. 6) it will pull the bracket63 and thus the link 62 and the shoe 28 rearwardly with it. However,when the horizontal link 51 is moving forwardly under the driving actionof the eccentric 50, should the link 62 become jammed or reach its endposition before completion of the forward stroke of movement of the link51,.the bracket 63 can swing forwardly against the bias of spring 65 toprevent further forward movement of and damage to the parallelogramlinkage and the sealing shoe, thereby providing a safety factor in theoperation of the linkage.

As will thus be appreciated, the horizontal link 51 is reciprocated bythe eccentric 50 to impart horizontal swinging movement to the links 58and 62, whereby to reciprocate the shoe 28 horizontally.

The links 58 and 62 in turn serve to retain the shoe horizontal and thebellcrank 56 serves to raise and lower the same. Specifically, theparallelogram linkage is adapted to be moved upwardly by the outer camsurface 53 of the cam 52 to dispose the shoe 28 in upwardly spacedrelation to the conveyor 21 and the bowls l and lids 11, and is adaptedto be biased downwardly by the spring 59 when the bellcrank is releasedfor downward movement by the inner cam surface 54. The cam surface 54 isso located that when the same becomes aligned with the follower 55 theshoe 28 is in position to bridge over or span between two of thecarriers 22. Consequently the spring 59 will move the shoe 28 downwardlyuntil it engages the trailing edge and the leading edge respectively ofthe lids 11 and flanges 12 of the two containers therebelow, and willthen maintain a predetermined spring pressure thereon to facilitate thelid-tacking operation.

To prevent excessive downward movement of the shoe in the event ofmalfunction of the machinery, a safety link 66 is associated with thebellcrank 56 and the parallelogram 58-62. This link is pivotally andadjustably suspended from a turnbuckle 67 mounted on the tacker frameand includes a lost motion connection with the bellcrank comprising aslot 68 within which a pin 69 on the bellcrank comprising a slot 68within which a pin 69 on the bellcrank is free to move. The bottommargin of the slot defines the lower limit of bellcrank and linkagemovement, and the slot itself accommodates up and down movement of thebellcrank within its normal operatmg range.

The inner cam surface 54 and the horizontal link 51 are so related toone another on the shaft 49 as to impart an essentially rectangular pathof movement to the shoe 28, as depicted at 29 and described inconjunction with FIG. 2. The turnbuckle 60 in the vertical link 58 and asimilar turnbuckle 70 in the horizontal link 51 are adjustable toaccommodate reasonable adjustments to be made in the path of shoemovement. For the same purpose, the cam 52 may be adjustably mounted onthe shaft 49. Usually, as shown in FIG. 6, the horizontal link 51 isconnected to the eccentric 50 at a location adjacent and preferablyslightly ahead of the initial portion of the inner cam surface 54in thedirection of rotation of the shaft 49. Consequently, with the partspositioned as illustrated in FIG. 6, continued rotation of the cam andeccentric in the indicated direction will cause the shoe 28 to be movedrearwardly until the point of connection between the eccentric 50 andthe link 51 approaches a position corresponding to roughly 4 oclock, atwhich time the rate of horizontal movement of the link 51 starts todiminish.

At this time, the cam 52 has rotated to a position wherein the outer camlobe 53 becomes engaged with the follower 55 whereupon the bellcrank 56,the parallelogram linkage 58-62 and the shoe 28 are raised upwardly torelease the shoe from the particular bowls that it had engaged. The shoeis then retained elevated by the outer cam surface 53 during somethingmore than 180 of shaft rotation.

During the l plus rotation in which the shoe is elevated, the eccentric50 is rotated through the null point at 30clock, the link 51 is movedforwardly to swing the parallelogram linkage and the shoe forwardly, andthe eccentric 50 is rotated through the null point at the clockposition, whereupon the linkage starts on its rearward stroke ofmovement. As the latter occurs, the cam again presents its inner camlobe 54 to the follower 55, whereupon the shoe is lowered onto thetrailing and leading edges respectively of the lids and flanges of thetwo bowls now positioned therebelow, which edges are twice removedrespectively from those first engaged by the shoe 28. (In other words,the shoe 28 engages the trailing edges of alternate bowls, and theleading edges of the bowls intervening between said alternate bowls, notboth edges of every bowl.) The link 51 is then moves the shoe 28horizontally rearward in synchronism with the horizontal movement of thebowls engaged thereby, whereupon the shoe 28 (which is preferablyelectrically heated in known manner) spot tacks the trailing edge of onelid and the leading edge of the next lid to the flanges of theirrespective bowls.

During this horizontal movement, the shoe moves in a perfectlyhorizontal path inasmuch as the spring 59 and the slot 68 in the safetylink 66 accommodate the necessary fluctuations or variations in whatwould otherwise be an arcuate swinging of the lower ends of the links 58and 62.

Thus, the sealing shoe 28 efficiently and expeditiously physicallypresses each lid 11 to the flange 12 of the respective bowl l0, andthereafter fixedly tacks the lid to the bowl to ensure properorientation of the lid and the bowl when they arrive at the finalsealing mechanism 30.

As above explained, the shoe 28 spans only alternate ones of the gaps orjunctions between the carriers 22. To effect tacking of the lid edgescontiguous to the intervening gaps or junctions, the second tacking shoe28aand its operating mechanism have been provided. This shoe andmechanism are identical to that above described with the singleexception that the eccentric 50aand cam 52a thereof are positioned l80out of phase with the eccentric 50 and the cam 52. Consequently the aunit or assembly will automatically tack lids onto the bowl edgesadjacent the intervening carriers junction. Thus,

each bowl in the line will have a lid tacked thereto at both its leadingand trailing edges as the bowls pass through the lid applicator andtacker structure. Thus, a lid is pressed and tacked to and properlyoriented on each bowl or container as the containers travel to thesealing mechanism 30.

In this manner, the row of containers may travel continuously throughthe machinery depicted schematically in FIG. 1 without pause, hesitationor interruption of movement, each container will have a lid tackedthereto in properly oriented position, and the sealing mechanism 30 willproperly perform its function in respect of all of the containerswhereby to afford high-speed and efficient production of filled andsealed containers.

Occasionally in the operation of the machine, a bowl may not be fed intoa holder 22 by the mechanism 20, or a bowl may be improperly filled withproduct by the mechanism 23 whereupon that mechanism causes the bowl tobe ejected. Thus, an occasional open holder in the conveyor will appearat the lid applicator. If a lid were applied to the open holder, the lidwould be sealed to the holder with no way to remove it and operation ofhe machine would be impaired.

To obviate this problem, an empty holder detector 80 (MG. 1) is providedadjacent the conveyor 21 at a location upstream from the lid applicatorcorrelated to the distance of the cutter llc from the conveyor and a lidrejecting air jet 81 is provided just below the cutter. When thedetector 80 senses an empty holder, it causes actuation of the air jet81 whereupon the next succeeding one of the lids 11 (the lidcorresponding to or intended for the empty holder 22) is forced tofollow the rotary knife and is blown onto a reject conveyor 82 anddropped into a reject box or receptacle 83. Thus, the lid that otherwisewould have been fed to the empty holder is rejected and the stream oflids will have an empty space matching the empty holder.

At the time when the empty conveyor pocket passes under the tackingshoes 28, it is also preferable to render the shoes inoperative toprevent damage to the shoes and/or the conveyor. For this purpose, anair cylinder 84 under the control of the detector 80 is preferablyassociated with the turnbuckle 67 of the shoe operation linkage to raisethe linkage to an inoperative or upwardly spaced position during passageof the empty holder.

Thus, proper and continuous operation of the machine is assured.

While we have shown and described what we regard to be the preferredembodiment of our invention for applying a particular lid to aparticular container, it is to be appreciated that the invention isequally applicable to other lids and containers and that for this andsimilar purposes changes, rearrangements and modifications may be madein the apparatus without departing from the scope of the invention, asdefined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for spot tacking lids to continuously traveling containerscomprising a lid-pressing and tacking shoe, means movably supportingsaid shoe for movement toward and away from the containers and forreciprocation along the axis of container travel, means for moving saidshoe toward and away from the containers, means for reciprocating saidshoe along said axis, and means for driving said shoe moving means andsaid shoe reciprocating means in timed relationship to one another forimparting a generally rectangular movement to said shoe from a startingposition toward the containers, parallel to the path and in thedirection of container travel, away from the containers and in parallelbut spaced relation to the path of container travel and in directionopposite thereto back to the starting point, whereby the shoe may beengaged with a lid and container and travel along with them to spot tackthe lid onto the container and thereafter be retracted from thecontainer and returned to its starting position for subsequentengagement with a succeeding lid and container.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the lids are heat-sealable to thecontainers and said shoe has a heated surface of limited area engageablewith a portion of the lid and a complementary portion of the container.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said shoe supporting means comprisesa parallelogram linkage for retaining said shoe in a predeterminedattitude relative to the lids and containers.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said shoe-moving means comprises acam having a inner lobe portion and an outer lobe portion, and a leverconnected to said shoe supporting means and having a follower engageablewith said cam, said outer lobe portion being longer than said inner lobeportion for causing said level to retract said shoe from the containersthroughout the shoe-returning stroke and the null points at the oppositeends of reciprocatory movement of said shoe, said inner lobe portionaccommodating engagement of said shoe with a lid and container solelyduring movement of the shoe in the direction of container travel.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 including resilient means for biasing saidshoe toward the containers; said resilient means, said supporting means,saidlever and the inner lobe of said cam accommodating variabledisplacement of said shoe in the direction toward the containers andsaid resilient means causing said shoe to exert a uniform pressure onthe lid and container.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said shoe reciprocating meanscomprises an eccentric and a connecting link between said eccentric andsaid shoe, said eccentric and said cam being mounted on a common shaftand comprising therewith said driving means.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said common shaft is coupled to andoperated in timed relationship with means for effecting continuoustravel of the containers whereby said shoe engages a predetermined spoton each lid and container and travels synchronously therewith whileengaged thereto.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said shoe reciprocating meanscomprises an eccentric and a connecting link between said eccentric andsaid shoe.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said connecting link includes aspring-biased safety coupling.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising a plurality of shoes; andsupporting, moving, reciprocating and driving means for each of saidshoes; said driving means being arrayed in predetermined phaserelationship with one another for causing each shoe to engage respectiveones of the lids and containers in the row; said drive means being soarrayed and said shoes being of such number as to engage each lid andits container.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein each shoe engages the trailingedge of one container and the leading edge of the next succeedingcontainer.

12. Apparatus for applying lids to containers comprising lidfeedingmeans for laying a lid onto each container in a continuously travelingrow of containers wherein said lid-feeding means comprises means forfeeding lids seriatim to the traveling row of containers, a detectorupstream of said feeding means for detecting the absence of containersin said row, and means actuated by said detector for ejecting therespective lid in the series intended for the absent container in therow; pressing and tacking means engageable with each lid substantiallyat the time the lid is laid on the respective container, means forengaging said pressing and tacking means with a lid and its container atsaid time, for then moving said means synchronously with the respectivelid and container during a portion of the travel of the container foreffecting spot tacking of the lid to the container without interruptingcontainer travel, and for thereafter returning said pressing and tackingmeans for engagement with a succeeding lid and container; and means forcompleting securing of the tacked lids to their containers.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said lid-feeding means includesmeans for feeding a continuous strip of lids, means for cuttingindividual lids from said strip and means for feeding the individuallids seriatim from said cutting means to operative during the time theabsent container and the ejected 10 lid would otherwise have beenengaged thereby.

15. A method of applying lids to containers comprising the steps oflaying a lid onto each container in a continuously traveling row ofcontainers and substantially simultaneously pressing each lid to therespective container, spot tacking each lid to the respective containerwhile the lid is so pressed by moving lid pressing and tacking meanssynchronously with the container through a portion of its travel therebyfixedly to orient each lid to its container, and thereafter securing thelids to the containers; detecting a lack of continuity in the row ofcontainers, ejecting the lid that would otherwise have been laid on therow at the point of discontinuity, and rendering the pressing andtacking means inoperative at the point of discontinuity.

1" I. IF

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the lids are heat-sealable to thecontainers and said shoe has a heated surface of limited area engageablewith a portion of the lid and a complementary portion of the container.3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said shoe supporting means comprisesa parallelogram linkage for retaining said shoe in a predeterminedattitude relative to the lids and containers.
 4. The apparatus of claim1 wherein said shoe-moving means comprises a cam having a inner lobeportion and an outer lobe portion, and a lever connected to said shoesupporting means and having a follower engageable with said cam, saidouter lobe portion being longer than said inner lobe portion for causingsaid lever to retract said shoe from the containers throughout theshoe-returning stroke and the null points at the opposite ends ofreciprocatory movement of said shoe, said inner lobe portionaccommodating engagement of said shoe with a lid and container solelyduring movement of the shoe in the direction of container travel.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 4 including resilient means for biasing said shoetoward the containers; said resilient means, said supporting means, saidlever and the inner lobe of said cam accommodating variable displacementof said shoe in the direction toward the containers and said resilientmeans causing said shoe to exert a uniform pressure on the lid andcontainer.
 6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said shoe reciprocatingmeans comprises an eccentric and a connecting link between saideccentric and said shoe, said eccentric and said cam being mounted on acommon shaft and comprising therewith said driving means.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 6 wherein said common shaft is coupled to andoperated in timed relationship with means for effecting continuoustravel of the containers whereby said shoe engages a predetermined spoton each lid and container and travels synchronously therewith whileengaged thereto.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said shoereciprocating means comprises an eccentric and a connecting link betweensaid eccentriC and said shoe.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein saidconnecting link includes a spring-biased safety coupling.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 1 comprising a plurality of shoes; and supporting,moving, reciprocating and driving means for each of said shoes; saiddriving means being arrayed in predetermined phase relationship with oneanother for causing each shoe to engage respective ones of the lids andcontainers in the row; said drive means being so arrayed and said shoesbeing of such number as to engage each lid and its container.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 10 wherein each shoe engages the trailing edge of onecontainer and the leading edge of the next succeeding container. 12.Apparatus for applying lids to containers comprising lid-feeding meansfor laying a lid onto each container in a continuously traveling row ofcontainers wherein said lid-feeding means comprises means for feedinglids seriatim to the traveling row of containers, a detector upstream ofsaid feeding means for detecting the absence of containers in said row,and means actuated by said detector for ejecting the respective lid inthe series intended for the absent container in the row; pressing andtacking means engageable with each lid substantially at the time the lidis laid on the respective container, means for engaging said pressingand tacking means with a lid and its container at said time, for thenmoving said means synchronously with the respective lid and containerduring a portion of the travel of the container for effecting spottacking of the lid to the container without interrupting containertravel, and for thereafter returning said pressing and tacking means forengagement with a succeeding lid and container; and means for completingsecuring of the tacked lids to their containers.
 13. The apparatus ofclaim 12 wherein said lid-feeding means includes means for feeding acontinuous strip of lids, means for cutting individual lids from saidstrip and means for feeding the individual lids seriatim from saidcutting means to said row of containers, and wherein said lid-ejectingmeans is located between said cutting means and the last-named feedingmeans and said detector is spaced upstream from the point of applicationof lids to the containers by a distance substantially equal to thespacing between said ejecting means and said point.
 14. The apparatus ofclaim 12 including means actuated by said detector for rendering saidpressing and tacking means inoperative during the time the absentcontainer and the ejected lid would otherwise have been engaged thereby.15. A method of applying lids to containers comprising the steps oflaying a lid onto each container in a continuously traveling row ofcontainers and substantially simultaneously pressing each lid to therespective container, spot tacking each lid to the respective containerwhile the lid is so pressed by moving lid pressing and tacking meanssynchronously with the container through a portion of its travel therebyfixedly to orient each lid to its container, and thereafter securing thelids to the containers; detecting a lack of continuity in the row ofcontainers, ejecting the lid that would otherwise have been laid on therow at the point of discontinuity, and rendering the pressing andtacking means inoperative at the point of discontinuity.